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I hope this little one had a safe night. I saw him yesterday hopping around. He cannot fly yet. I waited for about thirty minutes and never saw a parent check on him. He was in front of a lot of bushes I have let go wild so animals can have some cover. I did not want to scare him too much for fear he would hide and miss getting fed by a parent, so I waited. After another thirty minutes, I tried to feed him, but could not get close enough. I always go back and forth on whether to intervene; I do not want to “kidnap” a little one if the parents are around. After two hours, he was losing his little voice and I was getting worried. I decided to go out and throw a few raisins around hoping a parent would come and notice him. I imagine he just strayed too far from the rest of the family. Sure enough, a parent came soaring in and stuffed him full of raisins. He then led him away to some trees at the back of the yard. Click on picture to enlarge.

Brown thrashers are always on the edge watching, singing from the top of a tree, or back in a corner of the yard under a bush going through leaves. When I first started seeing them, they were so shy, taking off whenever I moved. After a couple of years of throwing peanuts to them, they are less weary of me, and I get to see them close and often. Click on pictures to enlarge.

So wonderful to see this group of American Avocets at the wetlands this morning! They are a bit hard to see, but there are also some Wilson’s Phalarope in the mix. It was a cold, wet, windy morning, so the pelicans were hanging out pretty close together. I also saw my first sora of the season. I have been hearing them, but this was the first good look. Click on pictures to enlarge.

A morning at the wetlands without coyote sightings is always a bit disappointing. They are just so amazing. I am always looking for them and if I wait long enough, I can usually spot one watching me from a safe distance. They always stop and look for a while, we acknowledge each other, and then they go back to what they were doing. I imagine they have a pretty good sense of who they should worry about and that is certainly a good thing with so many people out to get them. Cloudy days are great for seeing them, but not so great for pictures. Click on pictures to enlarge.